German and Austrian Civilian Internees.

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — British Army. – in the House of Commons at on 6 August 1940.

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Photo of Sir George Benson Sir George Benson , Chesterfield

The cost of living had gone up but does my hon. Friend think that by refusing to impose direct taxation, the cost of living will not still go up? It is not a question of whether we shall bear the burden. My hon. Friend is falling into the same trap as that into which the Chancellor has fallen. The question is not whether we shall but how we are to bear the burden and who is to bear it. I was asked by the hon. Member for Gravesend (Sir I. Albery) what I would do. I will tell him. I would raise direct taxation from the very lowest level to the very highest level. I would bear in mind that, as regards the Surtax payer at the highest level, you might have a very large individual surplus left and that you cannot get very much in bulk, and that you have to bring your taxation right down the scale. I would slash the personal allowances. It is the only possible way, seeing that our whole system of graduation of tax is based on personal allowances. I would adjust the burden which the Chancellor is throwing haphazardly on the community. And although I increased the tax I should not be increasing the burden on the community or on the lower range of incomes. I should be adjusting the burden so that the lower range of incomes bore a less burden than they will bear under the inflation which the Chancellor will not be able to prevent. Let us get to the actual facts. I want to make a comparison. It will be an inadequate one because the statistics themselves are inadequate, but I want to compare what happened in 1931 in regard to direct taxation with what is happening now. I have chosen that year as a basis, because that is the first year in which the exemption limit was approximately what it is to-day. As a matter of fact, the exemption limit is higher than it was in 1931, and therefore this comparison is the more effective. If we take the Income Tax and Surtax of 1931–32 and remember that in that year we had two Budgets—